What's Happening With Wyatt These Days.....

wyatt has had some awesome therapies this week! his therapists just keep bragging on how terrific he is doing...since i've never had a child with down syndrome before, i really don't have any idea how he's doing from their viewpoint, so i'm thrilled that they are so happy with his progress! yay wyatt! it's so encouraging to have their weekly feedback! they are terrific!

wyatt certainly keeps me busy! he is constantly pulling up on us, standing and playing. and when he's on the floor, he wants to "walk" everywhere! he really likes to walk, and he's so cute, picking those chubby little feet up! his pt brought a kid-sized walker for him to use this week...so cute! he did well with it. we've ordered a walking assistance device to free up his hands and keep us from being so bent over as we help him walk also. either i'm much older than when our other sons began to walk (which is true), or this is a lot harder because of his developmental delays (which is true too!), because he is exhausting me! whew! i am definitely feeling my age these days!

he jabbers a lot too. it even sounded like he said "e daddy" this week for "g daddy!" (what the grandkids call my dad!) he started squealing "like a girl" according to his daddy too! two nights this week at dinner he has gotten so excited, he sticks his feet and hands straight out and squeals! over and over, laughing....his face so full of joy! he is so funny! he cracks us all up!

medically, we're looking at a possible thyroid issue right now. his blood work was a little high, so we're seeing an endocrinologist the first week of october, which is the earliest they could see him...ugh! i, of course, would like for him to be seen next week....but we are on a waiting list for cancellations. we are having a follow up with his ent and audiologist next week as well. i'm anxious to see if they can get a tympanogram reading this time....hope, hope!

that's about it for now....life is busy....God is good...we are blessed! peace....

Our Down Syndrome Family

today we had overlapping therapists; ot and pt were here for about 15 minutes at the same time. these ladies are my friends! i love them....they are like family to me! we have been so blessed with the BEST therapists ever! i am so thankful that God put these ladies into our lives through our precious wyatt. i look forward to their visits every week!

and as i write this, i just received one of the most precious gifts (except for the gift of our Lord and Savior!) that i have ever received. in the mail was a canvas portrait of my current profile pic of wyatt and brennan kissing (wyatt's first kiss!). we met cassie and her precious girls as we were driving out to texas for our vacation. we'd been facebook friends, but had never met in real life. she caught this perfect pic of the babies kissing with her iphone, and i've been using it for my profile pic. it is just so precious! i am overwhelmed, and almost in tears, at cassie's thoughtfulness. around the perimeter of the canvas, where it wraps around the wood, are the words: "friends linked by an extra twenty first chromosome brennan + wyatt". i will always treasure this.....and ethan said they will never be able to top this gift! =)

this just ties into the theme of this post....our ds family. i have been blessed with such an amazing group of fb and local friends who i would never have met had God not given us precious wyatt! therapists, doctors, nurses, specialists who give of their talents and time to work with our special kids. we truly are blessed beyond measure!

A New Year...School, Marriage....

school has started! ethan is a senior...forrest is a 4th grader...wyatt's still a baby! everyone seems happy with their teachers, parking spaces, bus driver, therapists, life, etc.....i can't believe that i'm the mother of a senior, though, how did that happen? next year this time he'll be starting college...wow!

as tim and i celebrated our anniversary last weekend, we did reflect on where we are now, and where we expected to be 22 years ago! tim never expected us to be living in florida (i was kind of surprised!) .... i don't think i expected us to have 3 children. neither of us expected to have a BABY at this point in our lives, that's for sure! God's plans are so much greater than ours.....and i'm so glad!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

wow! where did the years go? and how can i be old enough to be married 22 years? haha! it just doesn't seem possible....and yet it also seems like we've been married forever! funny how that works, isn't it? to look at the pictures, we sure were young! only 5 years older than our oldest, ethan, is now!

married while pursuing our master's degrees at southwestern baptist theological seminary, we have fond memories of those first few years in texas! then my texan hubby moved me back to my floridian roots! quite a transition for him! i think he still feels the "texas tug" to move back when we visit his family there...

no one tells you how hard marriage is going to be, do they? they didn't tell us! and we went through premarital counseling at the seminary! i don't think anyone would believe you if you told them just how hard marriage is! marriage takes hard work, trust, compromise, patience, friendship, understanding, forgiveness, love (of course!), and the list goes on.... but our shared faith in God is the foundation of our marriage. without that foundation, i can't imagine how hard life would be in general....much less married life!

after being married almost 5 years, the addition of a baby boy (ethan) added a whole new dimension to married life! new worries, stresses, joys, responsibilities....there's just so much when you're responsible for a little baby that you've brought into the world! eight years later, another precious son (forrest), and then another eight years later, a surprise "bonus baby" (wyatt) gift from God....with special needs too...wow!

my life is not what i ever expected it to be....but it's SO MUCH MORE! i am so thankful for the Godly man my husband is! i'm thankful for how much he loves and provides for us. he is a man of integrity, well respected, a hard worker, wise beyond his years, and much more. (i'll stop here, i don't want anyone to be jealous! haha!) i am so blessed.....

Celebrations of Life....

we celebrate the little things now....and those who are in the down syndrome family celebrate with us! my friend and i were rejoicing this afternoon over her son sitting up and wyatt commando crawling, as well as the great news that wyatt's ear canals have grown and the doctor can now easily see his eardrums! wyatt's therapists (dear friends to me!) celebrated with us today all that he has accomplished while we were on vacation; turning pages of a book, imitating the book and us, the list goes on! there are so many opportunities to rejoice, opportunities that we so often overlooked before.....

but why is it that although we have so much to celebrate, there are still moments of sadness....when we wish life wasn't so difficult for our little ones? when we see older children and adults with ds, and we hope that our children are different from them; higher functioning, speak more clearly, are more independent, the list goes on....

i know that wyatt is God's gift to us, and i am so thankful for him. his adorable smile just melts my heart, and so many others'. his therapists say that he makes their day. most anywhere we go people are drawn to him....he is precious, and has such a sweet spirit...we are so very blessed.....

Having Fun in Texas!

honestly, this is one of the best trips to texas we've ever had! we were able to celebrate my in-laws 50th anniversary with their church family and friends! congratulations carole and jim! way to go! very proud and thankful for you! and i thank you especially for your precious son, tim!

we were blessed to stay with one of my cousins, the kemp family as we travelled out to texas! and on top of a great visit with them, they introduced us to mary and her adult daughter who has Down syndrome, giselle. they have been praying daily for wyatt since before his open heart surgery! we also got to spend time with some of tim's cousins, who we haven't seen in years! we have been blessed to spend time in one of their homes, the curtis family, and they have been most gracious hosts! we have laughed a lot together!

another highlight of our trip has been getting to meet two of my facebook friends in person! i met cassie and her adorable daughter brennan in louisiana.....so sweet! brennan and wyatt were so precious together...especially when brennan kissed him! his first kiss! then i got to meet felicia and baby grace in texas! baby grace is beautiful, and it was great visiting with her mom and brothers too! we are so blessed in our Down syndrome community to have friends all over the world that we are connected to through that little extra chromosome!

and we're not even finished with our trip yet!

Oh, The Beautiful Faces of Down Syndrome....

as i sat in one of the general sessions of the national down syndrome congress national convention, i was struck by how beautiful all those faces were. it was breathtaking, actually! those beautiful babies, children, teens and adults who share that same extra chromosome....the "extra beautiful" one! the innocent, loving, trusting chromosome! to watch them dance without embarrassment, with no fear of what others might think of them. to clap and rejoice freely over the accomplishments of others. to witness the pure joy of little girls and boys meeting cinderella and mickey mouse for the first time! it was incredibly encouraging!

it was an amazing weekend, and i'm so glad that we were able to go. i actually can't wait to go again! it was fantastic to meet facebook friends who i've come to cherish dearly over the past year. to meet new friends that i know God brought specifically into my life for a reason! to reconnect with wyatt's first friend with Ds, benjy... and to be able to deepen the relationships with have with families from our local group, acton up with downs. it was an awesome weekend!

i heard over and over again how very blessed we all are to have been given a child with down syndrome (so true!). with as much encouragement as i received, i was reminded of the hard road ahead for each of us. the therapies, school decisions, ifsps, ieps, financial decisions...the list goes on and on....all to insure that our children have the best lives they can have! it's exhausting!

it was also great to hear the end result of that hard work, as i heard self advocates (adults with down syndrome) share about their lives...lives they love....lives they live independently; working, serving, worshiping....living their lives to the fullest....just like everyone else!

because we are more alike than different.........